Chain of Fools
by SoThere
Summary: We all get a little jealous sometimes. Light and fluffy modern AU written for round 3 of Prompts in Panem, Day 1. Visual prompt: Peeta's Locket


_Summary_: We all get a little jealous sometimes. Light and fluffy modern AU written for round 3 of Prompts in Panem, Day 1.

_Visual prompt_: Peeta's Locket

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_AN:_ _I'm so excited to publish my first story and, at the same time, participate in PiP with such an incredibly talented group of writers. Thank you all for letting me join you!_

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She watched them through the window. Arriving early (for once) had afforded her the opportunity to observe him at work, where he is most at ease. Most comfortable in his own skin. Most himself.

The woman across the counter from him was undeniably beautiful. Golden, wavy hair fell across her shoulders, topped off by a soft black beret. Even her winter jacket couldn't hide the curves in her slight frame. Something he said amused her, and she threw her head back a bit to laugh. She reached across the counter to brush his hand, which he politely pulled away. He gave a tight smile and looked down at the counter, closing the binder they had been reviewing. She nodded and smiled back at him, rifling through her purse while speaking to him again. Finding her keys, she smiled once more and turned to leave the bakery.

Katniss watched her approach and open the door. Turning back once more, she called over her shoulder to him. "See you next week, Peeta. I'm sure it will be perfect. You've got magic hands!" She carefully put her leather gloves on and stared up at the sky. "Looks like we'll be getting snow tonight." She smiled warmly at Katniss, who barely grumbled an "Mmm..." back at her. Her smile probably looked more like a grimace to the stranger before her, but she couldn't help it. Small talk was not her forte.

With one last smile, the woman said, "Well, try to keep warm!" before turning on her heels to walk down the sidewalk toward her car.

Katniss turned her attention back to the window. She watched Peeta cleaning off the countertops in the empty storefront, putting away spare pens and boxes. The muscles in his arm flexed as he wiped the glass cases to remove the fingerprints and smudges from tiny noses that built up throughout the day.

Her breath puffed clouds of steam in the cold air as she studied him. While she felt herself aging by the minute, their years together had only made him more handsome to her. Time hadn't touched his broad shoulders and muscular arms in the least. His curls had long been trimmed in favor of a more "professional" look, but they grew so fast he always seemed to be just shaggy enough to appear youthful.

He returned the binder to its place on the shelf behind him, then headed back into the kitchen to continue his closing rituals. Katniss let herself in and locked the door behind her, flipping the sign to Closed. "It's me, Peeta. You almost ready?" she shouted back to him.

"Yup. One more minute. You want to grab a couple treats for the kids while you wait?"

"You spoil them, Peeta!" she replied with a small smile. "With the holidays coming so soon, I think we should skip the treats for now. Don't you?"

"I suppose you're right." He smiled back at her as he came out from the back room, untying the apron from around his waist. He tucked it behind the counter and reached for his winter coat. "Besides, they'll be overdosing on sugar as soon as Papa gets here." Peeta's parents were flying up from Florida to spend the holidays with them soon. Even though "Papa" Mellark had retired from the bakery a few years ago, he loved to treat his grandchildren every chance he got.

"Ready, Freddy?" he teased as he opened the door to let her pass. He locked it from the outside then led her to her car and used his spare remote to open the doors. He slid into the driver seat and adjusted the radio until he found a Christmas carol playing. "Let's get the kids and head home."

'*****'

Several hours later, dinner was over, the dishes were done and the kids were finally settled down for the night. They were sure to get a middle-of-the-night knock on the door from someone in need of a drink or a hug, but for now, they were all alone.

Katniss lay on her back on her side of the bed, checking her phone for any crisis emails from work. Finding none, she put the phone on her end table and glanced over at Peeta who was laying on his stomach reading a novel.

"So who was the blonde?" She'd debated asking him all evening, but her curiosity finally got the best of her.

"Hmph?" Peeta was engrossed in his book and didn't even look up.

Grrr. Repeating herself was just bringing more attention to her insecurity. She tried to sound as aloof and disinterested as possible. "You know, the blonde. At the bakery this afternoon." Her voice cracked a little as she fiddled with her phone again needlessly.

He put his book down and turned to look at her curiously. She had his attention now. "Blonde?... Oh, you mean Mary Wilkins? She's a pretty regular customer. Came in to order a cake for her parents' anniversary next month."

"Oh. That's nice." Why did her voice sound all tinny and weird?

"Why? Katniss, are you okay?"

She lifted up the blankets and scooted underneath. "Of course I'm okay, Peeta. I'm fine. Don't be silly. I just noticed a very friendly customer and wondered if I should know more about her. She seems to know a lot about _you_ and your _magic hands_."

Peeta chuckled a bit as he moved his book to the end table, clearly finished reading for the evening. "Wait a minute Katniss, are you jealous?"

"HA! Jealous? Of course not. Don't be ridiculous." She grabbed at the locket around her neck, sliding it nervously back and forth on its long chain. "Why on earth would I be jealous?"

Peeta sat up on the bed. "Hey, there's nothing wrong with being a little jealous now and then." He reached over and pulled the locket from her clutches and held it between his fingers. "There's a time I was certainly in that predicament..."

Katniss looked up at him. His eyes were sparkling with amusement, but crinkled a bit at the corners sadly. She knew what he was talking about – Gale, her best friend from childhood through high school. In the early days, when she and Peeta had started getting closer, he put a damper on their relationship. Peeta could never seem to believe her when she said they were just friends. Looking back, it was probably wise of him, since Gale could never really seem to believe it, either.

'*****'

It all came to a head senior year of high school. Peeta had saved up money from working nights and weekends at the bakery to buy her a birthday present that spring. He gave it to her in the meadow behind the school one afternoon, telling her it was something for her to take with her to college that fall. Something that she could always have with her, to remember the people that loved her back home. She was so nervous as she opened it. Love was not something they had expressed yet. Could he actually _love_ her? Worse, could she love him back?

But once she opened it, her nervousness turned to irritation. It was a beautiful rectangular locket, white gold on a long thick chain, carved with intricate designs on the front. She opened it up to see what was inside and… "What's the hell is _this_?"

"Um, it's a locket. I thought it was pretty obvious." He rubbed at the back of his neck and smirked at her.

"I know it's a _locket_. But why are these pictures inside of it?" She jabbed at the photos inside, the smiling faces of her mom, her little sister, and … Gale? "Why is Gale in here? Why isn't there a picture of…" Her cheeks flushed hotly and she looked away.

She could feel him reach for her arm. "Why isn't there a picture of _who_ Katniss? Is there someone else in this world that you might love?" She turned and scowled at him, trying hard to control her flaming cheeks. He knew she wasn't good at words. And she certainly wasn't going to be the one to say something like that first.

"Because," he continued, "there's definitely someone else who loves you… who thinks of you every time he can't be with you. Can you guess who that might be?"

She scoffed. Huffed. Looked down at the locket and shook her head slightly. He scooted closer, put his hand under her chin and tilted it up, forcing her to meet his eyes. "Because, maybe you didn't realize, but _I_ love you, Katniss. Happy birthday." He leaned closer and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

Pulling away from her stunned face, his lips quirked up in a slight smile. "Besides, you won't need a picture of me to remember me by. Because I'm going to be with you at school in the fall. I finally got my acceptance letter. I don't plan on letting you get away from me that easily."

Laughing, she threw her arms around her neck and pulled him to her, leaning into his solid frame and realizing that this had become her favorite place to be; tucked under his chin, smelling his shirt and the basking in the sweet warmth that he always emitted. She wasn't quite ready to say it back, but she knew in that instant that she loved him, too.

The years had flown by since then, and she couldn't imagine life any other way. Gale had eventually moved on, joined the military and lived in several countries before finally settling down in Arizona a few years ago. They got a Christmas card every year with photos of his wife and dark-haired brood of boys.

And Peeta was right; she didn't need a picture of him around her neck. He was by her side through four years of college, through graduation, and as they moved from the campus into a small apartment of their own while she started job hunting.

Since the day he gave her the locket, it hung around her neck, lying close to her heart, a reminder of all the love she had in this world. When the kids came along, Katniss swapped out the photos inside for ones of their daughter and son instead. She wore it day and night, through all seasons, never taking it off.

Well, _almost_ never…

'*****'

She sat up in the bed and pushed him down while throwing her leg over his waist. Sitting over him, she leaned down and put her hands on either side of his head. "You know what? You're right. I was a little jealous. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Right?"

Peeta gulped and shifted beneath her. "Right."

"Because you and I, we're in this together. And we both know that there is no one else in the world that can come between us. Right?"

He moved a bit and she could feel him, hard, beneath her. "Right."

"So we're just going to stop talking about this and move on. Right?"

As she spoke, the locket dangled from her neck, the cool metal hitting his bare chest occasionally. It jingled slightly as it moved along the chain, ringing out a little in the quiet bedroom. He reached up around her neck and removed it gently, putting it in its special spot on the end table. His voice was deep and husky. "Right."

She leaned down and kissed him deeply. He rolled them over without breaking the kiss until he was on top of her, leaning carefully on his forearms so she didn't bear his full weight. He pulled away for a minute and chuckled down at her.

"Now don't forget to put that back on later. We don't need Joanna ribbing you at work tomorrow again about our extracurricular activities."


End file.
